Bye For Now

I'll be away from the computer for a little while.  Talk amongst your selves and don't break the internet while I am away. 8-)

I would say to behave but I KNOW someone of you and well, that might not be possible. *snort*

Back soon,

Sluggy

Ibotta Shopping at Walmart & Regular Shopping at Rite-Aid This Week

 I hit Rite-Aid on Monday and got all this......

Not pictured are two large tubs of CoffeMate(for Hubs who was almost out).  I had a $9 wyspend $45 Catalina expiring that day and Qs for everything pictured(the clearance make-up and the Neutrogena masks were better than free after those Qs and I used Bonus Cash to pay so  nothing OOP.  I earned $6 in new BC on this($3 CoffeeMate, $3 Air Wick)

I also hit Walmart on Tuesday to do my 5 offers and get the $1 Midweek Bonus(oh boy! lol)......

Not pictured is a bag of dirt which was $5.98 and gave me $10 back on Ibotta(and counted toward a spend X get $X on Fetch).  The Degree body wash/soak wasn't an Ibotta deal but when bought along with the Degree soap bars(which were an Ibotta rebate)they gave me extra Bonus points on Shop Kick so I counted them here.  The WErther's double dipped for a $1.50 rebate and an any popcorn .10¢ rebate.  With the Blue Diamond cans above at R-A this all gave me 7 more rebates toward my $10 big Shamrock Bonus.  I'm only 15 rebates away from that Bonus now.

Anyway, all this plus the dirt cost me $5.26 OOP after using a $25 Swag Bucks gift card and earned me $19.10 in rebates.

I'll hit a Walmart and/or Rite-Aid on the driving part of the trip later this week and finish off that Ibotta Bonus.

That's it for my shopping so far this week.

What have you been up to?

Sluggy

Musical Tuesday

 After the last 5 days, these are the two pieces of music that come to mind for me........

Anybody care to guess what the connection is here between these two songs and me?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Saving Money in the Kitchen" Edition... 

Here's a blogger I just found, check her out.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Domino's pizza and salad for Lunch, FFY for Dinner

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner

3. Tuesday--Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

4. Wednesday--Pecan Chicken, Roasted Veggie assortment
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6.  Friday--Cheeseburger on roll, baked Sweet Potato Fries

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Domino's pizza and salad for Lunch, FFY for Dinner

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner

3. Tuesday--Leftovers or Fend For Yourself

4. Wednesday--Beer Battered Fish, Roasted Veggie assortment
5. Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie

6.  Friday--Leftovers 

7. Saturday--Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Collards

The Pecan Chicken(though the side was served along side fish insteadf)and the Cheeseburgers didn't get made.  Burgers move to this week, Pecan Chicken will wait until we get back from traveling.

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  Nothing

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  a box of Fish fillets

*  Chicken pot pies

*  Veggies for Roasting

*  Faux Breakfast Sausage

*  Garlic Bread

*  2 bags of Mozzarella

I spent $84.53 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $197.82 for March.  That was 1 trip to Walmart and 1 trip to Weis and mostly, they were to do Ibotta deals.  Though I did get some canned food goods.

There are 17 shopping days left in March.  

I've earned $84.12 on Ibotta in March.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in March.

I've earned $9.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in March.

I've earned 2927 points($2.92) from shopping on Fetch in March.

I earned 2905 Kicks($11.62)from food shopping on Shop Kick in March. 

I've earned 1504 Swag Bucks($15.04) from food shopping on Swag Bucks in March.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in February.

That's $93.12 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $197.82 in grocery spending so in reality it's $104.70 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

Go me!!

My savings percentage for the last week was 55.72%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for March comes in at 54.17% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....Lasagna and Garlic Bread.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Domino's pizza and salad

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers on roll, Potato Salad

3. Tuesday--Veal Parmesan, Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Bob Evans Salad for Lunch, FFY for dinner or leftover Lasagna
5. Thursday--Eating Out

6.  Friday--Eating at Daughter's?

7. Saturday--?

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Nothing.  I'm trying to use up stuff in the fridge before we leave town for awhile.  There are a few getting "long in the tooth" potatoes in the pantry I need to use up and some chicken stock which will get put into the freezer. Whatever is left of the Lasagna and any leftover sauce(if Ex-CB doesn't want it)will go into the freezer.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  Great deals(even good deals)....what's that lately? hahahaha

Sluggy

  

Frugal Friday.....the March 11th Edition on Saturday

Friday was a very crappy day for me(don't ask!). Between wanting to cry my eyes out over the way an incompetent dr. with a horrible bedside manner treated me and wanting to lash out at said person working for the medical entity I am forced to use(not at the same time mind you)and a trip to Walmart to do Ibotta deals I was just done. Then a run in with Rite-Aid customer service over ANOTHER non-working gift cards(still).  This encounter has made my HS flare(yay me!)and I sank into a depressed state. Then money issues with my daughter have me on edge.  Then I get home and there is a jury summons waiting for me.
 Like I said, not a good day.

Then I couldn't sleep, got up at 4 am, put dogs out in the pouring rain.  Rain changed over to snow between 6-7 am.

As of this photo about an hour ago, we have 8 inches on the ground(a bit of this is ice under the snow).

When I went to put the dogs out there were about 50 birds on the ground in the snow near the trees in the distance in this photo as we have a bird feeder on one of the bare deciduous trees back there.

Most of them flew up into the trees when the dogs came out of the door so here's the brave birdies that didn't flee......

I've seen Robins for about a week in the yard too and I am thinking they are saying, WTF?!, at this point.

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

* Bought all this at Dollar General on clearance last Saturday.....

All this plus everything else not on clearance came to $20.17

*  I bought all this at my R-A on 3/6 on in one transaction using a $6 of wys $30 coupon...

Nothing spent OOP and earned $10 BC.

*I bought all this at my R-A on 3/8 in one transaction using a $4 off wy $20 coupon......

All this plus a Twix bar, a Butterfinger bar and a 6 pack of Irish Spring soap.

Nothing OOP.

*  I got a few items at Weis(PMITA)Markets for Ibotta rebates--Beneful dry dog food, Canine Carry Outs dog treats, an brand Creamer, Chobani creamer and a Kill Cliff energy drink.  Add in the .75¢ in Ibotta rebates from Rite-Aid(Twix and Butterfinger bars and I earned $7.10 including m $3 Midweek Moneymaker Bonus.  Spent $9.57 before tax on the dog food and earned $7.10(no free gift cards used). 

*  Frugal fail--2 heads of Romain lettuce frozen in the produce drawer of my fridge so those had to get pitched.

*   I found money!

A penny near the register counter at Rite-Aid last Saturday.

Back to Rite-Aid on March 8th.........

I found .22¢ scattered down the Easter candy aisle.

Then the same day at Weis.........

I found this penny in front of the customer service desk.

Total Found in last Week...... .24¢
Total Found This Year......$3.66

That's about all I've got for this past week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

And have a good weekend and stay warm!  

Sluggy  

Income & Spending Report....February 2022

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the February report---

I had 2 goals for February.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2021.

I can report that we finished up February in the black.
The amount we ended the month of February with?....$1,764.55

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in February---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,229.07(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $159.74

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$2,051.69

* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total "Income" for February.....$7,666.63

Expenses in February---

* Irregular bills in February were $1,644.20

* Variable Expenses in February came to $2,031.75

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$5,902.08

$7,666.63-$5,902.08=$1,764.55

Slush into February of $39,046.36 in that Fund, add $1,764.55 and we get $40,810.91 going into March 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,764.55.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this February here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet was the same as last month.

*  The water bill was $2.16 less than in January.

*  The electric bill was $13.08 less than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $1288.08 less than in January.

*  The Amazon c/c was $95.14 less than last month.

*  The cell phone was $40.67 less than in January.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The WAM was $150.00 higher than in January.

*  The gas bill was up $10.32 from last month.

Irregular bills were paid too.

*  We paid the annual sewage bill in January instead of in February.

*  We gave Ex-College Boy a birthday check.

*  We gave Eldest Son and his new bride a Wedding Check.

*  We had to kennel the dogs for a few days and paid for that.

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on February 2022---We got through the month with quite a bit leftover(mostly due to 1/3 of the 401K withdrawal).  Most of the wedding bills are due in March too.

 

THOUGHTS going forward into March 2022--Well, I predict March will see us in the RED for the month.  Thankfully we have the Slush Fund to cover any overage in bills!  Between wedding bills(hotel room, rehearsal dinner final payment)and the airline flights, gas for car to get to Lousiana, car rental out West, motel stays and dog kenneling for almost 2 weeks(don't forget eating out as well)and the Long Term Care premiums are due in March, yep, we'll be in the red.  So many bills in March!

Not to worry though as it all averages out during the fiscal year.  The $3200+ we had leftover in Jan./Feb. should cover most of the extra bills in March.

March will be a doozy of a month for bills so I'll be sitting my butt home in April and listing stuff on eBay. 8-)))

So how was your February financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in February?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

Sluggy 

Dollar General Lackluster Clearance Event

I don't go to Dollar General often but the Saturday during one of their Clearance Event weekends do tempt me.  So I went into my local DG on Saturday and scored these deals......

The Hello toothpaste was .80¢ on clearance and a digital $2/1 Q came off making that -$1.20.
The Head and Shoulders Clinical was $2.92 and a digital $1/1 Q and .25¢ of the $5/$25 Q came off making that $1.67.
The Hempvana pain relief was $7.50 on clearance and .99¢ of the $5/$25 Q came off making that $6.51.
The St. Ives scrub was $2.02 on clearance and I had a $1/1 IPQ and another .13¢ came off ($5/$25Q)making that .89¢.
The St. Ives wash was $1.67 on clearance and I had a $1.1 IPQ and another .08¢ came off making that .59¢.
The Clean and Clear wash was $2.86 on clearance and I had a $2/1 IPQ and another .11¢ came off making that .75¢.
The single Glade candle was $2.25 on clearance and I had a $1/1 digital  Q and another .29¢ came off making that .96¢.
The double pack Glad candles were $2.25 on clearance and I had a $1/1 IPQ and another .16¢ came off making that $1.09.
I bought a few other things(tea pitcher, napkins, matches, DDG shaving gream for Hubs, etc.)that got me up to $25 in spending before the $5 Q came off making all this and the other items $20.17 OOP after discounts and qs.

This particular store had can upon can of Pedigree chicken flavor wet dog food on the clearance aisle.  NOTHING on the clearance aisle was marked so  I had to try to scan those items with the app which only works about half the time in this store....can you say "bad wifi signal"? lol  Then I went over to the regular pet food aisle and saw this brand/size can was priced there for $1.95 which made me think the cans in the clearance aisle would ring up .97¢ on clearance at most. HA!

I asked the cashier to price check the items I couldn't get a price on through the app and the dog food rang up $1.95.  I told her that's strange since the same brand/size pet food NOT in the clearance section was priced at $1.95.  She proceeded to tell me the chicken flavor dog food in the clearance aisle was NOT on clearance.  It was discontinued being carried in their store(all the stores?)so they placed it in the clearance aisle since there was nowhere else to put it.  WTF?!?  

Now I probably could have called over a manager and pressed my case that I should be allowed to buy that dog food for .97¢ a can given that it was in the clearance aisle but I wasn't in the mood to assert myself as I'd just picked up that case of Kirkland dog food last week at that Liquidator store so I just put it back and didn't raise an issue about it.

Still a few good finds even so.  Did you go to Dollar General and find anything worth buying this past weekend?

Sluggy

What's on the Dining Table This Week

 The "Yay! A new Pitcher!" Edition... 

I hit the Dollar General clearance sale on Saturday and also took advantage of the $5 off wys $25 Q they have on Saturday.  I've been sorely in need of a new iced tea pitcher.  I've been checking Walmart almost weekly for months now, but this item seem to be part of their missing inventory/supply change kink here.

Well I found one at Dollar General and even before that Q on Saturday it was less expensive than the shelf price for one(if they had one in stock)at Walmart.  That's my big win from the weekend! lolz

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Chinese Take-Out

2. Monday--leftover Take-Out

3. Tuesday--Lobster Ravioli Alfredo, Broccoli or Peas

4. Wednesday--Wild Rice/Mushroom Soup
5. Thursday--Butter Chicken w/rice or Calzone

6.  Friday--Lasagna, Salad, maybe Garlic Bread

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Chinese Take-Out

2. Monday--leftover Take-Out

3. Tuesday--Lobster Ravioli Alfredo, Broccoli or Peas, Strawberries

4. Wednesday--Wild Rice/Mushroom Soup
5. Thursday--Subway subs for Lunch, no Dinner

6.  Friday--Chinese buffet for Lunch, no Dinner

7. Saturday--Butter Chicken w/rice or Cheese Steak Calzone

The wild rice/mushroom soup was terrific and needed nothing else to accompany it.  I had a package mix in my stockpile of mushroom soup.  I sautéed fresh mushrooms and then added a wild rice mix too. nom nom!

The Lasagna didn't happen yet so rolls to this coming week.  I have many old Subway gift cards so using them is a good thing.  The Chinese buffet out was a last minute decision while we were out on Friday shopping.  Having a big lunch means we aren't necessarily hungry for dinner.  Gee, I HATE that I don't get to cook dinner on those occasions.... ;-)

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  2 lbs. of shredded mozzarella cheese

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  Butter Chicken dinner

*  Calzone

*  2 packs of Lobster Ravioli

*  a bag of Peas

I spent $113.29 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $ for March.  That was 1 trip to Walmart, 1 trip to that Liquidation place and 1 trip to Dollar General(on Saturday).

There are 24 shopping days left in March.  

I've earned $48.56 on Ibotta in March.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in March.

I've earned $4.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in March.

I've earned 2088 points($2.08) from shopping on Fetch in March.

I earned 10 Kicks(.02¢)from food shopping on Shop Kick in March. 

I've earned 781 Swag Bucks($7.81) from food shopping on Swag Bucks in March.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in February.

That's $52.56 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $113.29 in grocery spending so in reality it's $60.73 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

Go me!!

My savings percentage for the last week was 52.95%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for March comes in at 52.95% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....Meatloaf, Collards, Mac and Cheese, Peas and Lobster Ravioli.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Domino's pizza and salad for Lunch, FFFY for Dinner

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner

3. Tuesday--Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

4. Wednesday--Pecan Chicken, Roasted Veggie assortment
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6.  Friday--Cheeseburger on roll, baked Sweet Potato Fries

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Nothing.  I'm trying to use up stuff in the fridge before we leave town for awhile.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  Great deals(even good deals)....what's that lately? hahahaha

Sluggy

  

Let's Go Brandon!

Saw this tv segment from a news station in Alabama somewhere, on YouTube........

I doubt the gas stations get fined for having people put these little stickers on their gas pumps.  I call bullsh&*.  Unless the government's PC police are out handing out citations for this sort of thing.  At best it's vandalism of the business by whomever places a sticker on a gas pump.

I call it art.  Yeah....that's what it is!

Here's the one I found on my local gas pump months ago...

Here's something else I saw in PA months ago....not once but at 3 different locations along the Interstate on a single trip......

Yah, he deserves that poke in the eye after his disastrous pull out from Afghanistan.  We are an embarrassment to the world with this man as POTUS.  
The only thing worse is how Putin and his Oligarchs have embarrassed the Russian people.  Heck, everyday Russians are fleeing into Finland now.  

UPDATE

First off, this isn't about Trump so stop bringing up Trump.  Trump was his own kind of disaster and NO I am not a Trumpster and did not vote for him either time(and if you have read my blog for any amount of time you would know that).   Those of you who don't know me(Richard, Cheryl, Julie-all have empty blogger profiles so probably trolls)stop assuming my political bent because I think Biden is not fit for the office he holds.  

Y'all are welcome to your own differing opinions so go start a blog of your own instead of hating on others and their opinions.

Hope you have a nice day.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the March 4th Edition

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste last week. Not much cooking either but hey.....

*  I paid the sewage bill in full for 2022 to get a 3% discount at the bank they take payments for this at.  It's better than nothing, right?

*  I bought all this at my R-A on Saturday in one transaction using a $10 of wys $50 coupon.....

Nothing paid OOP and I earned $4 back on Ibotta for the cough lozenges.

I actually bought more than this but returned 4 items so I am not counting them in my total.

I then bought all this at a different R-A on Wednesday(new ad week).........

Suave and 2 other brands are giving $4 in BC when you
buy 2(limit of 2 per card)so I did the deal on 2 different cards.  The shampoo was $2.99 and get one 50% off, the body wash was $2.49 and get one 50% off.  Total spent in BC was $14.44(after using 2 x $1/2 Suave Qs)and I earned $8 in BC on each card so $16 BC total.

This is the first rose scented Suave body wash I've seen and I am a sucker for anything rose scented. 8-)

* I bought this stuff for Ibotta rebates on a trip to Walmart on Monday....

Spent $1.98 OOP after coupons and free $25 gift card uced, and earned back $12.75 back in reg. rebates and bonuses.  The Almay face make-up, the clearance Colgate toothpaste and 6 Bic razors were moneymakers after Qs(no rebates though)so that is why I included them.  Moneymaker items help lower the cost of the Ibotta rebate items.

* I hit a different Walmart on Thursday and bought all this for Ibotta rebates....

$37.67 paid OOP and $48.02 earned in regular rebates($27.52) and 2 Bonuses($20-the big $15 one and a $5 Weekend Warrior one) and a .50¢ Renuzit Bonus.

*  I also bought 2 packages of Land O Lakes American cheese at the deli counter.  Swag Bucks has a deal to get $7.00 back in points when you buy a package of each color cheese-no size restriction.  I only spent $3.59 total of both packages of cheese so that's a $6.41 moneymaker on Swag Bucks.  Of course only the white cheese label says Land o Lakes on it so I had to put a ticket into customer service to get the full 700 Points back.  You would think they'd know by now Walmart does this with the yellow cheese label? lolz

*  I got $2 in post Qs at Rite-Aid on March 1st.......

I forgot 3 Qs at home last week. oopsie!

*  I went on Wednesday and got a massage at a "spa" in a nearby town.  Hubs gave me a gift card to this place for Christmas.....

The masseuse was nice, the massage felt good but....

The building was an old large house on the main road through town and was not a nice well kept old house but more like a they put "lipstick on a pig" old house.  I know the photo looks nice but there was stuff not in the photo like missing baseboard, cracks in the walls, the stairs up to the second floor where this massage room was located were definitely crooked and needed attention.

This place also made you book a massage online and put a 50% deposit down on a credit card which Hubs wasn't informed of(I bet he didn't ask either).  So the gift card which would have covered all but $5 of that massage(not counting the tip to the masseuse)was only half used.  So now if I want to go back I have to spend another $52.50 OOP on the c/c to use all the gift card. sigh.

I told Hubs I really appreciated the thought but don't gift card a spa again. lolz

*  After my massage I hit what use to be my beloved discount grocers that closed up end of last year.  It is now a liquidators and I wanted to check it out since I was in the area.  It looked like they get a lot of open boxes and/or returns from Costco(lots of Kirkland branded things)and such.  The closest Costco is 2+ hours away from here.

They did have some food items so I picked up these....

A large tub of pecans.

A case of wet dog food which came out to less than .50¢ a can.

A large box of Greenie type dog treats(72 count) and a 12 pack of canned corn.    It all came out to $36.  I bet nobody ever got out of Costco spending that little! hehehe  They mark everything here 50% of what Costco charges and if it's still here after a month they knock another 10% off, and on and on.  

*  Frugal fail--When we went out to Walmart on Thursday I brought along an Applebee's gift card to use to get lunch but we both decided we'd rather hit the Chinese Buffet at the mall so instead of a free after gift card lunch we had to pay OOP.  We did save in that neither of us needed/wanted dinner that night. 8-)

*  Easy Spirit had a flash sale last week on clearance priced Winter/Fall shoes.  I got 4 pair of shoes for next Fall/Winter for only $17.25 a pair(reg. $69-$75 per pair!)and free shipping AND used a $15 discount I have for buying shoes previously from them which meant $54.00 out the door for 4 pair of clogs that fit my big ass foot.  Now I need to go cull the worn out Winter shoes in my closet....

*   I found money!

Two different pennies in the same Rite-Aid in town on Monday.

Found in different locations within the store.

A dime near the front of my R-A when I walked in on Tuesday.

Three pennies at the bank where I went to pay the sewage bill.  They were in the lane next to my lane  

at the drive-thru so after the gal shot my receipt through the pneumatic tube thingy I pulled up, got out of the car and walked back into the other lane and picked them up.  The one at the top of the photo obviously had been lying there for awhile longer than the other two since it was coated in rock salt debris.  And Sissie there was NO traffic there to potentially run me down! lol

Total Found in last Week...... .15¢
Total Found This Year......$3.42

That's about all I've got for this past week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

And have a good weekend and stay warm!  

Sluggy  

Food Spending 2022....the February Report

 Onward to February's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2022.

I have posted February's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
*****************

ALDI

OOP  $35.06

Value  $47.01

Savings  25.55%

OCEAN STATE

OOP  $0.00

Value  $4.00

Savings  100%

OLLIE'S

OOP  $3.20

Value  $7.00

Savings  54.29%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $1,130.24

Value  $1,130.24
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $236.01

Qs/free Gift Cards  $516.46
Value  $752.47
Savings 68.66 %

WEIS

OOP  $45.55

Qs/Sales  $14.16
Value  $59.71
Savings  35.71%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Ocean State at 100%, and Walmart at 68.66%.

The worst rate was at Aldi at  25.55%.  
I shopped at 6 different stores in February.  

TOTAL Spent in February................$319.82

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$550.37

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$870.19

TOTAL Savings of .............................63.25%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for February w/R-A..............$319.82

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$1,680.61
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$2,000.43
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................84.01%

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....Unlike I predicted Weis(PMITA)Markets didn't get many of my grocery dollars in Feb.  Most of what I bought was from Walmart where I recouped most(if not all)of what I spent on Ibotta rebates.  Same goes for Rite-Aid.I got stuff and didn't spend anything out of pocket there either.

I DID spend more than I planned on in February but I have $613.93 in rebate monies total so far for 2022 and I've spent $641.00 OOP so far in 2022 so my actual food/toiletries/HBA/etc. spending is $27.07 for the year.  I'll take that all day long. 8-)))

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by .91% in February 2021 to 84.01% compared to the January's 83.10% savings average.  

With 2 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $641.00 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$641.00

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,901.38

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,260.38

2021 Yearly Savings Total.............................83.57%

The average per month amount spent is $320.50 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To March 2022.......

Well we are traveling a lot in March so the month is an unknown but probably there won't be a lot of  grocery shopping.  Will attempt to eat from stockpile and freezer while we are home.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in February?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

Stand With Ukraine

 While I was on our Caribbean cruise back in December I had a massage and also an acupuncture session in the spa onboard the ship.

The acupuncturist was named "Dr. Sam" and his name tag noted he was from Ukraine.  He came to my mind last week as events unfolded between Ukrainians and megalomaniac dictator Vladimir Putin and his Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Since cruise ship employees are signed to multi-month contracts and do go home between their contracted employment I keep thinking about Dr. Sam.  Will he go home and stay to fight?  Can he go home?  Does he have family there and if so, imagine the worry he carries about their safety.

Am I odd to worry about someone I have only met once?

Before opening night of the opera "Don Carlos" at the Met the other day the cast learned and performed the Ukrainian National Anthem.

Please keep the Ukrainian people in your thoughts and prayers.  May this insanity end quickly.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "WTF?!" Edition...

Standing by the register and talking to some employees last week there I glanced at some of the snacks for sale.  This one caught my eye as it contains "upcycled bananas".  Hmmm, what is an upcycled banana?  A quick Google of the term and it can be anything from the good parts of banana that would otherwise be thrown out, to an "ugly" banana that a store wouldn't try to sell due to it's shape/size.  Perhaps it could also mean a banana peel that is scraped to remove any useable banana pulp from it as well.

Ya learn something every day if you keep your eyes open, right?

And now I can't get this song out of my head! ;-)

You are welcome for the earworm.  And btw-Gwen is married to my 9th cousin, "Mr. Country Music" Shelton through our shared "Soblet" Huguenot ancestry.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Wedding Dinner

2. Monday--No Plan

3. Tuesday--No Plan

4. Wednesday--No Plan
5. Thursday--Ditto

6.  Friday--Ditto

7. Saturday--Ditto

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Wedding Dinner

2. Monday--No clue...something...so tired lolz

3. Tuesday--Domino's Pizza, Salad

4. Wednesday--leftover pizza or ffy
5. Thursday--Fish and Chips

6.  Friday--Fend for Yourself

7. Saturday--Meatloaf, Collards, Mac and Cheese

I sort of made a keto meatloaf.  Instead of panko or reg. bread crumbs I crushed up chicharrones(crispy pork skins)to use in their place.  Crushing up chicharrones is not for the faint of heart I found out! lolz

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  Butter Chicken meal

*  Calzone

*  2 Hamburgers

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  a box of Monkey Bread

I spent $124.87 on food/toiletries/HBA the last 2-ish weeks. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $219.39 for February.  

There are 0 shopping days left in February.  

I've earned $303.29 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $6.24 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $14.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 26,642 points($26.64) from shopping on Fetch in February.

I earned 7,720 Kicks($30.88

)from food shopping on Shop Kick in February. 

I've earned 2,185($21.85) from food shopping on Swag Bucks in February.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in February.

That's $323.53 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $219.39 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$104.14 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count(plus a $1.50 rebate sent to my Paypal account).

Go me!!

My savings percentage for the last week was 64.64%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 74.79% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....Meatloaf, Collards, Mac and Cheese.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Chinese Take-Out

2. Monday--leftover Take-Out

3. Tuesday--Lobster Ravioli Alfredo, Broccoli or Peas

4. Wednesday--Wild Rice/Mushroom Soup
5. Thursday--Butter Chicken w/rice or Calzone

6.  Friday--Lasagna, Salad, maybe Garlic Bread

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Hopefully nothing.  I got the lasagna noodles at Walmart yesterday and mushrooms at Aldi last week.  The only "cooking" this week is the Lasagna(the rest is heat and eat).

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  Great deals(even good deals)....what's that lately? hahahaha

Sluggy